Dr. Robin N. Coger
Professor of Engineering, East Carolina University

Dr. Robin N. Coger is a well respected higher education leader with a strong track record of building programs and strategic partnerships for the benefit of learners, faculty, academics,  research and industry. She has served as the Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC;  as the Dean of the College of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at North Carolina A&T State University, and as a professor, researcher, center director and administrator at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. 

Dr. Coger’s technical research expertise is in solving design and performance problems related to tissue engineered organs, with special emphasis on liver replacement devices and their safe storage for off-the-shelf availability. Her work has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and other federal agencies, and has resulted in numerous publications, one patent, plus two additional provisional patent applications. Dr. Coger has been awarded for her excellence in leadership, research, teaching, and mentoring throughout her career.

Dr. Coger is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. She has chaired the Advisory Committee of the Engineering Directorate of the National Science Foundation since 2023, and is a Board member of FIRST – an organization founded to inspire the interest and participation of young people in engineering, science and technology. Aligned with Dr. Coger’s understanding of the importance of sharing best practices and concepts among engineering educators, she has also served on the editorial board of the American Society of Engineering Education publication, PRISM.

Dr. Coger earned a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University, and her Master of Science and Doctoral degrees from the University of California – Berkeley, all in Mechanical Engineering. She completed her post-doctoral research as a fellow at Harvard Medical School and the Department of Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.